


Long Story Short

by FallingPetalsGlowingHeart



Category: Strictly Come Dancing RPF
Genre: F/M, I should be writing a methods section of a psychology paper but I'm doing this instead, it's lucky I watch a lot of day time TV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29082825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingPetalsGlowingHeart/pseuds/FallingPetalsGlowingHeart
Summary: Insights of Ranvir and Giovanni's relationship told through a series of interviews.
Relationships: Giovanni Pernice/Ranvir Singh
Comments: 80
Kudos: 49





	1. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We start with their relationship confirmation being discussed on GMB

"It's 7;25 on April 14th 2021, welcome back to Good Morning Britain," Susanna began.

“ **Ok before we go any further can we talk about something?** ” Announced Piers.

“What would that be exactly?” Responded Susanna, unsure where he was going with this as it hadn’t been in the morning meeting.

“ **Miss Singh, do you care to add anything?** ” He asked looking to his right.

“ _Huh?_ ” Ranvir looked over from her small desk to the side of the studio, where she’d been scrolling on her phone off camera.

“Ohhh” Susanna chimed in, grinning when she realised what Piers was hinting at.

“ **Come on, as if you don’t know what I’m talking about...** ” he continued as Ranvir shook her head with a casual look on her face, not giving anything away. “ **Who were you just texting hmm?** ” He nodded at her phone, still being met with no answer.  “ **Ok explain this post on instagram last night** ”

As he spoke a photo showed on the screen, showing Giovanni dressed very smart in a black button down shirt, holding a martini, sat across a candle lit table, with a heart emoji under it, taken from Ranvir’s instagram story.

She said nothing, but smiled coyly.

“ **And let’s not forget this from Giovanni,** ” Piers continued pointing up at a screen, this time a photo of Ranvir appearing. She was obviously sat on the other side of the table, also holding a martini glass, and looking very beautiful in a burgundy dress. At the bottom of the caption read “amore mio” in curly text.  “ **Well...** ” said the male presenter.

“ _What?_ ” Responded Ranvir with a shrug, but still smiling.

“ **Are you dating Giovanni?** ”

“ _...yes_ ” she replied after a beat.

Woops, whistles and cheers filled the studio, and she couldn’t hide her large smile and blushed cheeks.

“ **I knew it!** ” Shouted Piers, moving his arms in celebration.

Ranvir just giggled to herself.

“I’m so glad it’s finally out there” Susanna rejoiced.

“Yes no more secret keeping!” Laura echoed, both of them baring big grins, the latter couldn’t help herself jumping around excitedly.

“ **Wait, what? You all knew?** ” Piers scoffed, pointing around the studio, being met with nods and a chorus of yeses.

“Well you know I love a bit of gossip” Richard butted in.

“ **So how long's this been going on then? During strictly?** ” Piers was already beginning his line of questioning.

“ _Mmhmm_ ” Ranvir agreed nodding, but refusing to give too much away.

“ **So you were lying about the hanky panky?** ” He added.

“ _Oh my god_ ” she exclaimed hiding her face in her hands laughing. _“I think that’s enoughon my personal life,_ ” she said, hands now resting on either side of her face, “ _isn’t there some news we should be discussing._ ”

“Oh you know this is news,” Richard teased.

" **No come on** " Piers resumed his questioning, " **what week was it?** "

" _err well it depends what you mea_ n," Ranvir was internally reluctant to discuss anything, but on the outside she seemed very blasé. " _Week 4 things started to change_ -"

" **what dance was that?** " Piers interjected.

"Chacha wasn't it?" Susanna answered knowingly to a nod from Ranvir.

" **Oh of course, that explains it, all that hip grinding,** "

" _oh stop_ " she cringed.

" **I knew you were at it, I even said, didn't I?** " Piers boasted.

" _well if you would let me finish, thank you very much, week 4 things changed but it was the end of week 5 where things really..._ " she was looking for the right word, " _progressed._ "

"Ah that moment we all witnessed at the end of the Argentine Tango" Richard added cheekily with a raised eyebrow.

" **And the viewers can deduce in their own minds what happened there, I can guess** " teased Piers

" _ugh ok can we stop now, we must've spent enough time on this_ " crossing her arms, Ranvir had clearly had enough of the prying from her colleagues.

“Unfortunately Ranvir is right and we have to move on” Susanna confirmed, “as much as I’d like to unravel all the saucy details” she cackled loudly.

“ _Stoppp_ ” Ranvir laughed rolling her eyes.

“ **We’re really happy for you though Ranvir** ,” Piers chimed in, which was met with cheers once again.

“ _Thank you people,_ ” Ranvir nodded with a wink.


	2. The Strictly curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir and Giovanni are guests on Jamie’s podcast ‘Private Parts’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set at some point in May 2021

“ **Hi guys!** ” Jamie started enthusiastically.

“Hiiii” Ranvir and Giovanni sang together. They were sat very close together, his arm round her back.

“Super exciting that today’s episode we’re joined by a couple” Francis commented. 

“ **I love you guys** ” Jamie gushed being met with ‘awws’ and giggles. “ **No genuinely, separately and together you guys are just awesome. I’m so happy to see you happy because you deserve it**.”

“ _Aww Jamie that’s so sweet_ ,” Ranvir grinned, her voice soft.

“ **Although I don’t know how you put up with him** ”

“ _Well..._ ” Ranvir raised an eyebrow, looking up at Giovanni and giggling.

“ **Also I totally called it** ”

They all laughed.

“Did you know they were together then?” Francis asked.

“ **Oh yeah by week 6 it was so obvious** ,”

“I mean I think we hid it... pretty well” Giovanni interrupted.

“ **No dude the heart eyes were sooo obvious. But even early on I knew it was gonna happen and you’d get together**.”

“Really?” His cohost asked.

“ **Oh yeah I remember in week 3 training, Gio can I tell this story?** ”

“Eh...go on” he clearly looked shy, blushing undeniably.

“ **Wait Ranvir do you know this story?** ” Jamie asked.

“ _No.._ ” she looked up at her Italian boyfriend confused.

“ **Oh my god, brilliant!** ” Jamie got ready to tell the story. “ **Ok so we’d often show each other our dances throughout the week to get feedback, see how they were going, and practice performing,** ” he explained to Francis and the listeners, “ **and week 3 I remember you’d just shown us your foxtrot, which was amazing by the way** ”

“ _Thank you my darling_ ” Ranvir smiled.

Giovanni also thanked him and bragged "highest score of the series so far"

“ **So you’d shown us that, and me and Goose showed you our charleston** ,”

“That was quite a dance” laughed Francis.

“ **Yeah there were some interesting reactions to that one,** ” Jamie responded.

“It was pretty shit” interjected Giovanni, being met with a slap across the chest from his girlfriend.

“ _Don’t be so rude, it was just..._ ” she couldn’t find the words.

“ **No it was shit** ” Jamie repeated and they all laughed. “ **Anyway anyway,** ” he continued, “ **so we showed the dances and then Ranvir you went to go and get coffees or something and Gio stayed for a minute to talk through feedback** ”

“ _Right_ ” she was following so far, and knew all this.

“ **So as soon as you’ve gone I go up to G and I’m like ‘you fancy her don’t you’ and he’s all like ‘no its just acting’ not having any of it.** ” impersonating the Italian in his storytelling.

Giovanni was noticeably nervous hearing the story, fiddling with his rings and biting his lip.

“ **And that's all well and good for the dance but while you were watching he had his arm round you all cosy, he was looking at you all the time instead of us - rude by the way. There was so much out of the dance that I was like ‘dude that’s not just acting’ because like outside the dance why are you selling a story you know?** ”

“ _Uh huh_ ” nodded Ranvir.

“ **So I called Karen over and was like ‘don’t Gio and Ranvir make a good couple?’ Yet again Gio being all like ‘no I gotta be a teacher and professional bla bla bla’** "

"Professionalism's important, no?" Giovanni cut in.

" **And she was all like ‘yeah and they totally like each other’** ”, Jamie was talking very quickly, clearly excited, and often stopping to laugh and catch his breath. “ **And this guy’s little face when she said that** ”

“Shut up” Gio rolled his eyes.

“ **He went all shy and** ” Jamie was really laughing now.

“Stop it” Gio was feeling embarrassed at the teasing.

“ _What?_ ” Asked Francis and Ranvir.

“ **And his voice went all high pitched like all squeaky like a little girl, and he went ‘really?’** ” He imitated what Giovanni had said, being met with plenty of laughter. “ **and then he made an excuse to leave because he was all embarrassed. Look he’s gone red again now** ”

“ _Aww that’s so cute,_ ” Ranvir smiled at him and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. " _I never knew that_ "

* * *

“ **So you know we have to talk about the strictly curse right?** ” Jamie jested.

“Oh that’s where everyone sleeps with their partners?” Francis asked. “I mean...” he looked between Ranvir and Giovanni.

“ **But is it a curse if both parties are single?** ” Jamie asked.

“You know my feelings on this,” Giovanni started defensively, gesturing a lot with his hands as he spoke, “first there is no curse. What you do with your partner is choice, papers just make up this curse for drama when you choose if you sleep with your partner. That’s obvious. So the curse, it’s not a thing. And if two people are single, like we were,” he nodded at Ranvir, “it’s just like meeting a partner through work. Loads of people do that and it’s not a ‘curse’.”

“ _Yeah I mean I know,_ ” Ranvir added, “ _the papers love to stir up gossip. Like when we were on the show everything we did was taken as either we were hooking up or we hated each other, no inbetween_ ,” she laughed, “ _and it’s silly because they don’t know what’s going on, you know. Noone sees the hours we’re together training but us. So they can claim it’s some passionate affair going on - which like it wouldn’t exactly be an affair anyway if you’re both single would it?_ ” She was met with agreeing mumbles, “ _but erm you’ll see all that stuff being said but in reality it was much deeper than that, wasn’t it?_ ” She asked Giovanni.

“Of course. You were growing in so many ways, and we grow together in that.” He agreed.

“ **I have to say,** ” Jamie butted in, “ **having actually done the dancing it’s obvious how people end up together.** ” He laughed.

“Oh really?” Asked his co-host.

“ **Oh yeah, you spend so much time together you'll either end up best friends, hating each other, or falling in love. Obviously the latter wasn't gonna happen with me and Goose because I have Soph-** "

"And even if you didn't Karen's way out of your league" Teased Francis.

" **Totally true to be fair,** " he laughed back, " **So the time you spend together is one thing, but then like you’re so close together in ballroom, I found it awkward at times. I mean we remember the episode with Karen and talking about dressing to the left.** ” They all laughed. “ **But you really enjoyed it, didn’t you Ranvir?** ”

“ _Yes..._ ” she giggled. “ _Well, I mean yeah it is kinda intimate._ ”

“You have to have the connection,” Giovanni chimed in, “the physical connection of the bodies is really important.”

“ _Yeah and like at first it was a bit weird you know. To be so close to someone. But I think we got comfortable with each other very quickly._ ”

“ **Well..** ” Jamie raised his eyebrows.

“ _Not like that! Not yet anyway,_ ” she cackled

“But we got that connection quickly, didn’t we?” Giovanni finished her sentence.

“ _Yeah completely. And it was strange at first just going from months of ‘don't be near anyone’ to ‘ok stand body to body with essentially a stranger’_ ” 

“Yeah” Francis nodded as he listened.

“ _But it felt so nice and almost comforting to be in ballroom frame I think. Certainly not comfortable physically with pushing the shoulder down and everything, although I guess I was quite good at it,_ ” she chuckled.

“Best female frame everybody,” Giovanni couldn't resist an opportunity to hype up his girl.

“ _Thank you sweetheart_ ,” she said rubbing his arm,

" **Couldn't get you to the final could it though** ", Jamie butted in jokingly.

"Mate you're never letting that go are you? Well just because the judges made the decision didn't mean it was the right one" Giovanni snapped back.

"To be fair I don't think anyone knew how you ended up there mate" Francis added, trying to step in before they took up too much time bickering. "Anyway, Ranvir, you were saying".

“ _I guess it kinda helped who I was doing it with too_ ,”

“Awww” Jamie and Francis couldn't help themselves.

“Well it’s all about the connection isn’t it?” Giovanni smiled as his and Ranvir’s eyes met, in one of those heart eye moments Jamie had mentioned earlier.

“ _Exactly,_ ” Ranvir continued, “ _I don’t know if it would’ve felt the same with someone else._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love how Jamie calls Karen ‘Goose’ haha
> 
> Also thank you SO much for all the love on the last chapter, glad this idea is something you’re all into ❤️


	3. loved-up lockdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir hosts a Loose Women discussion about the effect lockdown had on their relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in July 2021
> 
> Idk if Ranvir's actually gonna do more Loose Women but I'd totally love her to, especially at the chance we'd get confessions like these.

“ _Hello and welcome to Tuesday’s Loose Women,_ ” Ranvir started, “ _today we’re discussing summer holiday activities to entertain our kids, the effect the past year’s lockdowns have had on relationships,_ ” met by ‘oohs’ from the audience, “ _and we’re joined later by actress Maisie Smith to discuss her new role on the West End. All that and more, with Stacey Solomon, Nadia Sawalha, Judi Love, and me, Ranvir singh._ ” The audience cheered and clapped.  “ _First today, new statistics have shown the three lockdowns across the last year account for a shocking 25% increase in divorce rates, with the biggest increase coming from the third lockdown at the beginning of this year."_

_"_ That's shocking" Stacey gasped.

"I thought it could've been higher to be honest" Nadia jested.

_So ladies, how have your relationships been influenced by going through lockdown?_ ” Ranvir asked, gesturing to her fellow hosts.

“ **Well for me,** ” Judi started, “ **I started a relationship last summer between lockdown 1 and 2, and so when the second one came we obviously couldn’t see each other anymore and you know, be ... close,** ” she raised her eyebrows suggestively and all the ladies laughed. “ **And I’ll tell you it is a weird one. Normally I don’t like to move quickly with relationships, I like my independence. But it was also still in the honeymoon phase so lockdown meant you can’t be all over each other when that’s what you want.** " she laughed, " **I think if we had isolated together we could’ve broken up though** ,”

“Oh really?” Asked Nadia, surprised.

“ **Yeah it just would’ve been too soon to spend all our time together. Like I say, I’m an independent woman at heart, haha,** ” she cackled.

“ _What about you Stacey?_ ” Asked Ranvir, moving the conversation on at the instruction of the director talking in her ear piece, “ _you got engaged at the end of 2020, so lockdown must’ve served you quite well_.”

“Yeah,” Stacey giggled, admiring her ring. “I think for me I felt so lucky to have that time with Joe.”

“Even though he does drive you nuts at times,” Nadia chimed in.

“Well there was a lot of that as well. But lockdown and not working as much meant we could spend time together which we wouldn’t usually get, so it was weirdly a blessing.” The audience ‘awwwed’. “Even though I know it wasn't the same for a lot of other people, and i feel very very lucky. I mean those statistics show the problems people had with their partners don't they? But Ranvir what about you?” she continued, “I can’t imagine going from spending hours everyday with someone to not being able to see them.”

“That sounds like a nightmare honestly.” Nadia added sympathetically.

“ _Well it was far from ideal,_ ” she laughed. “ _So obviously me and Giovanni met doing Strictly, and so were together for about 10 hours a day for 8/9 weeks, which is obviously a lot of time to see anyone. Think, usually at the start of a relationship you’re just spending what? A few hours here and there on dates_ ”

“very intense” said Nadia.

“ _And with the bubbling, and then lockdown 2 stretching over the competition, we could only really see each other. Which for a relationship was weirdly good in a way"_ she laughed, _"in that with all that time together you’re forced to have deep conversations early and you learn a lot about each other_.”

“ **I don’t think I could deal with that.** ” Judi interjected.

“Really?”

“ **It’s too much too fast for me. I like to have some secrets about me, an air of mystery, keeps it exciting** ,” she shimmied her shoulders as she spoke.

“ _I would totally agree normally, but I think with the lockdown following it was helpful. Because it meant that by the time the show ended, and there were all the restrictions and then lockdown came, we knew very clearly how we felt about each other and where our relationship stood, you know?_ ”

“Yeah a good foundation” agreed Stacey 

“ _But , erm, then we obviously had to go over 2 months without seeing each other. We spent Christmas together, and then weren’t face to face in real life til mid March._ ”

“Aww your first Christmas together,” Stacey squealed, “what was that like?”

“ _Oh it was so lovely."_ she gushed _"It was the first thing we did together outside Strictly and made it so clear that we’d work on the outside world._ ” The whole audience awed at the confession. “ _And I mean he’s such a sweetheart, and was dressed all smart in a suit, and helped with cooking and gifts and everything, even though really he was just a guest and didn’t have to do any of that. I just felt terrible he couldn’t see his family_.”

“ **Oh yeah** ”

“ _But yeah that was so lovely and then that was it until March_.”

“ **How did you get through it?** ” Asked Judi.

“ _I imagine you were similar, being apart from your partner, but it was a lot of facetiming and messaging._ ”

“ **Yeah same, I think that communication like that is super important, and extra important when you’re not physically with each other.** ” She agreed.

“ _So you know it was a FaceTime basically every night. And weirdly I think a break from seeing each other was helpful because when you miss someone so much you truly realise how much they mean to you._ ” Ranvir was met with a chorus of ‘awws’ and blushed.  “ _Anyway that's enough on me."_ she waved her arms about, still not used to discussing her love life so openly, or even having something to discuss, _"Nadia, what about you?_ ”

“Well me and Mark have obviously been together for basically twenty years so it didn’t really effect us,” she laughed, “obviously we spent more time together than usual, but with the girls being home schooled we were very used to being home all at once. I mean we'd bicker but that's nothing new”

“ **But Ranvir, I wanted to ask you,** ” Judi began, “ **both of us were away from our partners in lockdowns, as we've said, but Giovanni moved in with you not long after lockdown ended - what prompted that decision.** ”

“ _Do you know what it is right? So he’s now on tour, and has been since April, so really we haven’t been like properly living together. Like when you say he moved in it sounds kinda crazy, but it was more so that whenever he’s got a break from tour, which is the odd day or few days here and there,we can spend that time together rather than him going to a flat in London to be alone, youknow?_ ”

“Yeah that does make sense. And anyway, I don’t think there’s a right point to move in with a partner.” Nadia said.

“ **No for me that time is never.** ” Judi laughed.

“ _Really?_ ”

“ **I just need my own space**.”

“But there’s something so nice about coming home to the same place,” Stacey gushed.

“ _Exactly. And after lockdown we didn’t want to spend anymore time apart we didn’t have to. Anyway it’s competition time, so over to Lisa Snowdon on how you could be in with a chance of winning £100,000_ ”.


	4. congratulations!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir has some exciting news to share on GMB

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know my timeline's quick but I just want these two to hurry up and live happily ever after already

“Friday 8th of October 2021, live from television centre in London, this is Good Morning Britain, with Ben Shepherd and Ranvir Singh” the voice over echoed over the opening titles.

“ **Good morning, it has just gone past half past 6, welcome to the programme**.” Ben started, quickly shifting his attention to Ranvir. “ **Nice to see you and congratulations!** ”

Laura could be heard squealing to the side of the studio.

“ _Thank you_ ” Ranvir nodded back and smiled.

“Come on let’s see the ring then _,_ ” added Charlotte, leaning over to get a closer look.

Ranvir held out her hand so the camera could get a close up of the sparkling diamond ring on her left hand. It was an emerald cut, not too flashy, but still plenty evident of how much Giovanni loved his girl. Of course this was met with ‘ooh’s ‘ahh’s and ‘wow’s from the crew and fellow presenters, and Ranvir coyly giggled at the reaction.

“ **So how did he do it then?** ” Ben asked, leaning his chin on one hand, his arm resting on the desk, like a school girl waiting for gossip.

“ _So this all happened Wednesday - the anniversary of when we first met_.” She couldn’t stop the small grin creeping across her face as she spoke, while playing with her ring with her left thumb. “ _I have to say it was very smart doing it then because obviously I’d been here in the morning so’d had full hair and makeup_ ,” she lent back laughing, “ _And well_ _he took me to Stonor Park, which of course is where we first met_ ,” as she spoke a photo came up on screen, showing her and Giovanni at the NTAs the month before. “ _Aww look_ _at us_ ,” Ranvir beamed.

“ **Talk about a movie star looking couple,** ” Ben added.

Sounds of whistles could be heard around the studio.

She was wearing a blue gown, perfectly suiting her skin tone, which was off the shoulder with a sweet heart neckline. Her hair fell round her bare shoulders in gentle waves, the sparkle of sapphire studs shimmering when caught in the light. Giovanni wore a complimenting darker blue suit, looking as suave as ever, his hand protectively over her waist. 

“ _So when we got there,_ ” Ranvir continued her story, “ _we went to the Italian gardens_ ,”

“ **Very fitting** ,”

“ _Well what’s crazy is that’s the specific place we actually met, like those clips in the VT from the Strictly launch where we’re dancing, it’s there of all places. Erm so we get there, and I thought it was just a nice walk you know? But there were these beautiful lights, like twinkly lights, along the steps. And I was like ‘isn’t that lovely’ thinking it was an instillation or something,_ ” she laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, “ _and then yeah, we stopped walking, and we were stood there and he said all these lovely things_ ,” she put her hand over her heart as she spoke, clearly emotional thinking back, “ _and before I could comprehend what was happening he’d got down on one knee_.” She imitated how shocked she was with a deep breath.

“Were you expecting it?” Charlotte asked.

“ _Noooo! I mean we’d talked about marriage before so I knew it would happen at some point, but no way did I think that’s what was happening on Wednesday. It wasn’t until literally that moment when he got down on his knee that I caught on_.”

“Not the most observant, mmm not great for a journalist,” Ben teased, being met with a swat across the arm from Ranvir.

“ _Oh shut up. How was I meant to know? To be fair I was a bit suspicious when there was no dog brought on the usual dog walk route...but as I say it was a year since we’d met so I thought it was just a nice romantic walk_. _He'd already treated me to a homemade breakfast so yeah I thought it was just an anniversary thing._ ”

“I think it sounds super romantic” Laura chimed in, “and I’m glad he was able to pull of a surprise like that, I bet he was so stressed.”

The picture on screen changed to side by sides of the Instagram posts Ranvir and Giovannihad each shared announcing the engagement. In the forefront of the first, from Ranvir’s page, washer hand showing off the engagement ring, with Giovanni kissing her cheek as she smiled in the blurrier background. The caption read “I don’t remember divorcing after the American Smooth” with a winking emoji and an engagement ring emoji. Giovanni’s post showed them kissing, her ring clad hand holding his face, Stonor clearly in the background, the caption reading “sempre” (forever) accompanied with a heart and engagement ring emoji.

“ _I think he’s always been good at hiding his nerves though,_ ” Ranvir noted, smiling up at the pictures, “ _I think it comes with being a dancer, being used to performing and stuff_.”

“Ooh speaking of, week 3, movie week on strictly this week,” Charlotte said.

“ **Ooh yes, and your Giovanni’s topped the leader board both weeks so far**.” Ben added, and Ranvir looked very proud in response, “ **what do you make of Amanda** [Mealing - Gio’s 2021 partner] **?** ”.

“ _Oh she’s lovely. And they’re doing so so amazingly well_.” Ranvir gushed, clearly very proud, and excited to hype up her man.

“ **Do you think there could be a win this year?** ”

“I hope so. Giovanni’s born to win, you know?” Ranvir laughed, tracing on her own arm where his tattoo lies.

“ **Do you get jealous at all? We all know my wife won't let me do Strictly** ”

“ _No, don’t be silly! That’s his job isn't it. It’s not like he’s jealous of me being here with you Benjamin_.”

“ **Well maybe that’s because of the 3am wake up time**."

“And the company!” Laura yelled jokingly, being met with a glare from Ben.

“ **Alright alright, I don’t know when Ranvir’s engagement became about poking fun at me.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a long time casualty watcher I'm desperate for Amanda Mealing to do strictly if for nothing else than for Connie to shut down Shirley.


	5. A Perfect 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giovanni and his 2021 strictly partner, Casualty's Amanda Mealing, appear on This Morning

“ **And Amanda and Giovanni join us now** ” Phillip said following the strictly clip that was shown. In the video they were dancing a Paso Doble to traditional Spanish music, Amanda was wearing an emerald green dress, and Giovanni wore an open black waistcoat, of course with nothing underneath.

“Lovely to see you both,” added Holly, smiling gleefully as a big Strictly fan at the duo who were sat comfortably apart from each other, their body language showing a lot of respect between them, “and congratulations on getting to the semi final, and on a perfect score last week.” Being met with thanks from the guests. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh it’s amazing it really is,” Amanda answered. “It's crazy though, I mean getting scores like that is just incredible. Of course it’s a huge challenge, a lot of hard work and hours of physical labour really, but a challenge rolled up in glitter and sparkle, so you can’t help loving it!” She grinned. “Although,” she continued, “I thought I was fit before the show, doing plenty of yoga and that kind of thing, but it’s nothing compared to training every day for hours.” 

“ **How is she as a student?** ” Phillip quizzed Giovanni.

“ _She’s good, I mean look at what we achieve. Sometimes a bit of... forgetting I’m meant to be leading._ ” He laughed, glancing over to his side at his partner

“Yeah I’m not used to not being in charge,” Amanda joked back, “it’s my inner Connie Beauchamp”

“ _But I use that. When choosing music, choreographing the dances, I think about my partner. So it’s good there’s that feistiness because it gives a Paso Doble like that_.” And the pair high fived in a friendly celebration of their achievement.

“I also have to add to you Giovanni, obviously Amanda’s your partner this year, but your partnership last year was clearly very successful.” Holly said hinting at his love life.

Giovanni chuckled, “ _yeah_ ” he said, slightly blushing, but his ears going noticeably red.

“ **You say about thinking about your partner in choreography, well there were a lot of romantic dances with Ranvir** ” Philip raised his eyebrow accusingly, wanting to uncover some dirt of the beginnings of their relationship. The pair had been rather close-lipped to the media, with Ranvir only revealing scraps of information here and there on her various presenting roles, leaving plenty of questions to still be answered.

“ _Well.._ ” he laughed back, having started to fiddle with his earring with his left hand, a clear sign he was nervous, as he didn’t often talk about his personal life so was unsure what to say and how much to give away.

“Congratulations on the engagement” Holly filled Giovanni’s pause, keeping the conversation moving and the tone happy, noticing he was reluctant to share anything.

“ _Thank you thank you. We are really really happy_.” His hand gestures matched his words, using big movements to emphasise his feelings, “ _And Ranvir’s amazing, you know this. She's a very very special lady, so beautiful and smart and funny. So I’m very grateful to have her in my life._ ” He tapped his chest, over his heart, as he finished speaking, or rather gushing, about his fiancé - he couldn't help himself when he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

“Obviously you proposed while strictly was on, and you were training together, so did you know Amanda?” 

“Oh yeah-“

“ _She help me plan it_ ” Giovanni interrupted, pointing over to her with his thumb.

“Well no, that's not entirely true," she rolled her eyes, "you told me your plan and I said ‘yes do it!’.”

“ _Well_ ” Giovanni shrugged, " _at least you confirm it was a good idea, stopped me worrying._ "

“I mean does it get more romantic that proposing where you first met? And that place happening to be so gorgeous?” Amanda leaned forward to give Phil and Holly the gossip, “Genuinely they’re so cute together, he literally talks about her all the time, still praises her dancing and her frame. He FaceTimes her every day in training and-.”

“ _Ok that’s enough_ ”, Giovanni rolled his eyes and pulled his dance partner back by the shoulder to be sitting against the sofa again.

***

“Before you go we have to talk about your upcoming tour Giovanni” Holly changed the subject away from the upcoming Casualty storylines.

“ _Oh yes, shorter tour this year_ ” he made a point to add.

“ **So it kicks off in January in Coventry,** ” Phillip read off his notes.

“ _Yes_ ” Giovanni nodded.

“What can you tell us about it?”

“ _It’s more emotional than other shows I’ve done, more honest_.” He paused and bit his lip in thought, “ _I think the whole year of 2020 taught me lots of things, covid and lockdowns_ -“

“ **And meeting Ranvir** ”

He couldn’t help smiling at her mention, “ _yes exactly. I really... realise how important performing is, how lucky I am to do it, and it’s more in life than just winning but a journey. So I wanted to share my journey, and I tell that through this show._ ”

“So it’s weekends from January to April?”

_ “Yes Friday, Saturday, Sundays” _

“So you’re not constantly apart from your fiancé” his dance partner nudged him.

“ _Right exactly_ ”

“ **And you can get your tickets at GiovanniPernice.com** ”


	6. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir reveals some news on Loose Women

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY back with a new chapter  
> Told myself I couldn’t write it til I’d done my methods and results of my project but that’s finally done.
> 
> This is the chapter I had in mind when I started this series... shame the denials came before I could write it but oh well

“Now let’s check in with the Loose Ladies, what have you got coming up?” Phillip asked, coming to the end of the This Morning episode.

“ _Well_ ,” Ranvir started from the other studio, shown on the split screen, “ _we’re talking about ghosting friendships and when to start holidaying with your partner. Plus one of us has a special surprise._ ” She said with raised eyebrows, while the camera panned across the panel - Judi Love, Stacey Solomon and Frankie Bridge - as they all made faces while the audience ‘ooh’ed.

* * *

“ _Ok we’ve made you wait long enough_ ,” Ranvir announced half way through the show, after the second ad break, “ _it’s time for someone to reveal their surprise_ ”.

The camera shot changed so each panelist was shown on a split screen, as music in the background upped the anticipation. After a few moments letting viewers guessing...

_“It’s me!_ ” Ranvir squealed, pausing before continuing, “ _I’m pregnant!_ ”

The audience cheered and clapped, as balloons fell from the studio ceiling in celebration.

“ **Congratulations!** ” Grinned Stacey.

“Although we already knew, didn’t we girls,” Judi added, “because how far along are you again?”

“ _22 weeks_!” Ranvir revealed.

“That’s what? Over 5 months?” Frankie asked, “I can’t believe you managed to keep it secret for so long”

_“Well it was a lot of loose dresses, big coats, and hiding behind a desk_ ,” Ranvir cackled, “ _given my age, we basically wanted to wait as long as possible before saying anything, so we’d know it was safe. But I can’t really hide it any more_ ” she laughed, looking down at her bump.

“Come on, stand up and show us the bump then.”Judi instructed. Ranvir followed her direction, and stood up from her seat at the end of the desk. Standing slightly to the side, her bump was clear in her delicately floral blue dress. The reveal was met with resounding “awwws” as she cradled the bump, before sitting down again.

“When did you find out?” Frankie asked.

“ _So erm I found out the week after we got engaged. It was so crazy that those things happened so close together, you know. I had some pregnancy symptoms, and, although I thought it was unlikely, I did a test. You know we all have that box of just-in-case-kinda-rubbish tests in our bathroom cabinets_ ,” being met with ‘yeah’s and nods in agreement. “ _So I did one of those and it was positive, and I was so so shocked. I mean I can’t repeat what I actually said!_ ” She giggled.

“ **oh I can imagine. No matter what result you want it’s always a shock!** ” Stacey added.

“ _And then I kept doing tests, and they kept being positive. So then I did one of those digital ones that tells you how far along you are, and yeah it said 3+ weeks! Turns out I was 5 weeks! I’d just put symptoms down to being tired with work if I’m honest_.”

“ **So what was Giovanni’s reaction then**?” Stacey asked. “ **How did you tell him**?”

“ _It’s weird because I knew he’d be happy but I was also so nervous to tell him. This was obviously when Strictly was on, so when I was doing all these tests he wasn’t even in the house. He would get back from training late, because he and Amanda worked really hard, so would be training til at least 10pm. Anyway he eventually got home, and I was like ‘I’ve got something to show you’ and he was so confused, and then I had him close his eyes and gave him the test._ ” Ranvir was grinning and positively glowing as she told the story. “ _And when he opened them and saw he was so so happy! He lifted me in the biggest hug. I know he’ll definitely spoil the baby rotten_ ,” she chuckled, “ _Just so excited, he even cried at the first scan, because he’s always wanted to be a dad_.”

“Aww bless him. Were you planning it then?” Judi questioned.

“ _Well..._ ” Ranvir giggled, “ _we weren’t trying to get pregnant, and we were gonna start thinking about kids - whether through pregnancy, surrogacy, adoption, whatever - after Strictly. But we also weren’t doing anything to erm prevent getting pregnant either_ ” she joked, and her fellow panelists laughed.

“ **Oh and what was your little boy’s reaction? Is he excited?** ” Stacey asked.

“ _Aww yeah he’s so excited_.” Ranvir smiled, “ _he’s always wanted a sibling, but I do think it will take some adjustment once baby’s actually here in having to share mummy’s attention, because obviously it was just me and him for so long_.”

“Do you know what we’re having”

“ _Yes.._.” Ranvir beamed, as she stroked her bump, “ _we found out last week we’re having a little girl!”_

“Amazing!”

“ **Awww** ”

“So lovely! So you’ll have one of each!”

“Have you thought about names?” Asked Frankie.

“ _Well... it’s quite complicated you see. Obviously coming from different cultures, we’re trying to find something that fits both. So like I’ve been looking over Italian names to see what’d fit my side, and he’s been doing the same. So we’ve compiled a shortlist, but we’re not sure on one just yet_.”

” **Well we can’t wait to find out and meet her!** ”

”Congratulations again darling!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m only doing 1 more chapter bc I’m not as into writing this now we know it’s not gonna happen, but again that’s a chapter I had in mind when starting writing this, so I can’t leave it.
> 
> Thanks for all the love, esp on twitter <3


	7. Good luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giovanni receives a message ahead of another Strictly final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter and the shortest... but it might be my favourite 
> 
> Set in 2024

  
“Once again, a massive congratulations on reaching the final!” Zoe beamed. 

Sat opposite her were Giovanni and his partner Jessie J. He’d been here 3 years previously before he’d lifted the Glitterball with Casualty’s Amanda Mealing. The next year he’d taken a back seat from the show, opting to not have a partner in order to spend time helping with newborn daughter Myra Rosalba. Last year he’d made it to week 5, and now he was here with Jessie, ready for another final.

“Before I let you go, I have one last good luck message - for you Giovanni.”

He grinned hearing this, and his eyes lit up as they hit the screen. Staring back at him were wife of over a year Ranvir, who he couldn’t help thinking to himself looked as gorgeous as ever. Next to her was Giovanni’s now step son Tushaan, who’s haircut still matched his own, and now aged 12 had finally been allowed to get his ears pierced so that matched even further. Finally sat on Ranvir’s lap was their little girl Myra, now aged 2 and a half. Her soft black hair up in pigtails out her face, her green eyes matched her father’s, her cheeky smile matched her mother’s, while her skin was the perfect mix of her parents’ complexions. 

“Hiii” they all said in unison and waved at the camera filming their prerecorded message, and back in the studio Giovanni waved back.

“ _Sweetheart we are so so proud of you, we know how hard you work. Everything you’ve achieved so far has been truly amazing, so I know you’re gonna smash it on Saturday!_ ” Ranvir said thoughtfully before blowing a kiss to camera.

Then it was Tushaan’s turn to speak. “Gio we know you’re gonna do so well in the final. You’ve done all the best dances so you have to win,” his confidence made Giovanni chuckle, thinking to himself ‘if only it were that easy’. “and we’re gonna vote like a million times, right mum?” Tushaan added. Ranvir nodded to him before looking back to camera, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, making Giovanni laugh.

“ _What do you want to say to Daddy?_ ” Ranvir said to the little girl sat on her lap, who giggled in response. 

“ **Daddy’s dancing** ” she answered defiantly.

“ _That’s right angel-_ “

“ **Pretty dress?** ” The toddler interrupted, asking genuinely, looking up at her mum.

“ _Yes Jessie will be wearing a pretty dress on Saturday to dance with Daddy_.” Ranvir smiled softly down at her as she answered, stroking her hand through her daughter’s hair as she did so.  
Myra loved watching Strictly, and watching her Dad dance, when she wasn’t able to dance with him herself. But equally she loved all the sparkle and glitter of the costumes, referring to all the female pros and contestants almost exclusively as ‘princesses’.

“ _Say ‘Good luck Daddy_ ’” Ranvir instructed, pointing back to the camera.

“ **Good luck Daddy!** ” She repeated, blowing a kiss to camera, mirroring her mum.

Giovanni reached out and ‘caught’ the kiss, bringing his hand to his heart.

“ **Yay** ” she squealed, clapping her hands, as if she’d seen, and again repeated “ **Good luck Daddy!** ”.

“Good luck Gio!” 

“ _Good luck darling!_ ”

Ranvir and Tushaan echoed.

“ _We love you so much_!” Ranvir added, blowing another kiss.

“Love you G” 

“ **Love you Daddy!** ”

And they all waved as the message ended.

“Love you guys!” Giovanni responded, blowing a kiss back.

The It Takes Two studio was filled with a chorus of “awws” at the adorable message.

“I mean how sweet was that?” Zoe adressed the room.

“They’re the best, they really are,” Giovanni agreed, trying subtly to wipe away the tears that’d come to his eyes, without anyone noticing, “I’m very very lucky.” He continued, nodding, hand over his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I had to find an M name  
> Myra is a sanskrit name meaning “sweet, admirable and extraordinary”  
> Rosalba is Giovanni’s mum’s name
> 
> I hope you’ve all enjoyed this series <3  
> Honestly writing is such a creative outlet and I’m shocked at how much I love it, so there’ll be something new soon ;)

**Author's Note:**

> My draft of my final year uni project is due on march 1st so I'm unsure of when I'll be posting more chapters. Maybe I'll procrastinate so there'll be lots of new chapters and soon, or maybe I'll be a good student for once... we'll see.


End file.
